PETALING JAYA: As more developments encroach into wildlife habitats, forcing animals out, Malaysians must be more aware of their surroundings and adopt a culture of safety when dealing with wild animals, says a clinical toxinologist.
In a recent case in Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan, a family of three had a fright when a 15kg reticulated python fell through the ceiling of their house and then slithered into the bathroom.
Luckily, the reptile was captured by a team from the district Civil Defence Force.
Last month, 29 baby reticulated pythons measuring between 30cm and 50cm each, were spotted in a drain near a restaurant in Section 20, Shah Alam.
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What is alarming is that this is not the first of such incidents.
Non-profit organisation Remote Envenomation Consultancy Services (RECS) advises the public to be cautious when faced with a situation of having dangerous wildlife in the home or housing area.
RECS provides consultancy assistance for medical professionals dealing with cases involving toxins from organisms, originating from venomous and poisonous animals, plants or fungi.
Assoc Prof Dr Ahmad Khaldun Ismail, who founded RECS in 2010, said back then he was looking for current scientific methods to treat patients at the hospital’s emergency department who were bitten or stung by dangerous or venomous animals.
The clinical toxinologist observed an increasing number of cases consulted through the support system for clinicians, which showed a new trend in managing such patients in Malaysia.
“Compared to a decade ago, workers at plantations were exposed to wildlife habitat and the cases reduced significantly due to the changes in agricultural practices.
“Nowadays, the cases referred to RECS involve 50% of Malaysians and involve patients who are engaged in outdoor activities such as gardening, cleaning the house compound, walking an unbeaten path and trying to catch wild animals without proper protective gear and training.
“They are the ones who are more exposed to injuries from wildlife,” the senior consultant emergency physician said when met at his office at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
As of 2023, RECS, which has 13 consultant emergency physicians who worked voluntarily, was consulted for more than 4,900 cases since 2017. The cases involved bites and stings from jellyfish, spinous fish, hornets, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and snakes across the country.
The highest number of cases was from Sarawak at 22%, followed by Pahang (18%), Perak (16%) and 10% of cases in Sabah and Selangor.
Most cases involved snake bites, accounting for 80%, followed by jellyfish and hornet stings at 20%; with 3% and 2% of consultations related to arthropods and poisoning from mushrooms or animals, respectively.
So far, five deaths involving snake bites were recorded by RECS in Malaysia between 2017 and 2021, followed by three fatalities due to hornet stings, two died from box jellyfish stings, and two deaths from tetrodotoxin poisoning (a type of toxin found in pufferfish).
On raising better awareness of safety culture, Dr Ahmad Khaldun said Malaysia needs to take a leaf from Japan where they instil safety awareness from a young age.
“People must be made aware of preventive measures to avoid injury when encountering potentially dangerous animals or organisms.
“Each toxin-related case will require a specific medical treatment and observation. If the victims are provided with optimal care, patients would recover well,” he added.
Dr Ahmad Khaldun is currently working with property developers to raise awareness on how communities can safely deal with wildlife in their housing area.
“We need to reduce human-animal conflict by educating the people,” he said.
